In general, manufacturing operations collect more than enough data to form a basis for the initial stages of transformation. The challenge is that many may not have a clear idea of how to use it or cannot easily access it because it is locked in legacy systems. And simply accessing that data is not enough – organizations must be able to monetize it.

Despite enthusiasm for digital manufacturing, few companies have realized its potential at scale, according to a new survey by McKinsey. While there is significant importance placed on the topic and many pilots have been launched across a range of use cases, less than a third of respondents cite having moved critical use cases—such as digital performance management—into large-scale rollout. At the same time, more than 90 percent of surveyed companies believe that they are either at the forefront of digital manufacturing in their industry or, at least, on par with the competition.

2019 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment in the ongoing evolution of industrial robots. In the US especially, as companies face greater pressure to reshore jobs while at the same time competing with cheaper overseas labor, collaborative, autonomous, and highly dexterous robots represent a welcome compromise. They’re not replacing us — yet — but they’re definitely helping us do all kinds of work faster, safer, and more efficiently.

Global spending on IIoT Platforms for Manufacturing is predicted to grow from $1.67B in 2018 to $12.44B in 2024, attaining a 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in seven years.

IIoT platforms are beginning to replace MES and related applications, including production maintenance, quality, and inventory management, which are a mix of Information Technology (IT) and Operations Technology (OT) technologies.

Connected IoT technologies are enabling a new era of smart, connected products that often expand on the long-proven platforms of everyday products. Capgemini estimates that the size of the connected products market will be $519B to $685B by 2020.

Across the United States, small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) are contemplating integrating industrial robots into their facilities. There is a growing awareness that increasingly flexible and affordable robotics systems can help existing workers in a variety of different ways, taking on repetitive tasks and freeing up staff for higher level work and increasing productivity overall.

To serve this growing need, dozens of robotics systems integrators have come online and promise complete packages to guide manufacturers from initial assessment to fully realized industrial automation. But deferring to these experts can feel a little imposing to manufacturers who rely on established processes they’ve developed internally.

Wouldn't it be extraordinary to simulate plans or build what-if scenarios for the products, facilities, and processes you wished to change before you actually put real-world resources behind real-world implementation? That's the promise of digital twins. And, many businesses and industries are taking advantage of this promise as these 7 amazing examples of digital twin technology illustrate.

In general, manufacturing operations collect more than enough data to form a basis for the initial stages of transformation. The challenge is that many may not have a clear idea of how to use it or cannot easily access it because it is locked in legacy systems. And simply accessing that data is not enough – organizations must be able to monetize it.

According to McKinsey, their latest research suggests that when robots—or automated manufacturing technology—take over jobs that are oriented around repetitive tasks, operators are able to move onto more exciting and productive work.

The manufacturing industry is seeing a turning-point in its growth and development, moving from decades-old operational processes to new implementations of IoT and connected technology such as smart robotics and industrial systems. A report from Statista reports that the smart manufacturing market is expected to grow to approximately $480 billion USD by 2023, from just a few hundred billion in 2018. As more systems become connected, the industrial and manufacturing industries, as well as the whole supply chain, must continue to mature to give manufacturers a set of tools for optimizing and increasing efficiencies in their connected factories that help them compete in the market and ultimately enable greater innovation.

e these issues. Once a practical application is identified with a big enough market, practical roboticists focus on using the technology at hand and adding more customization to create a solution for automating these tasks. Commercializing robotics helps in advancing the science of robotics. The advanced robotics engineers, without realizing it, are highly dependent on practical roboticists for their future survival.

Industry 4.0 and digital transformation bring with them smart factories and smart manufacturing units, which are fully integrated, collaborative manufacturing systems capable of adapting to supplier and customer needs in real time. The latest technologies in Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence are forming an integral part of this digital-driven industry.

Now that 3D printing is moving towards industrial-grade production levels, many companies find themselves excited about the possibilities but not sure how to fully make it part of their operating model. This has created a gap where companies are slow to adopt additive manufacturing. Fast Radius’ CEO Lou Rassey shares his take on industrial additive manufacturing.

Manufacturing automation is trickling down from the massive automotive assembly lines toward the “mom and pop” machine shop. As you take your first look at automation, consider the benefits of and barriers to this technology. Traditional automation requires a large upfront investment in dedicated equipment that takes months or even years to implement. Expanding automated solutions to more manufacturers doesn’t just require a better mousetrap, but also a paradigm shift to break down the old barriers. Systems integrators are creating solutions for manufacturers that reduce initial investment, shorten implementation times and allow for greater flexibility from the get-go.

Today’s collaborative robots (“cobots”) quickly, easily, and cost-effectively automate secondary food-handling processes such as quality control, labeling, packaging, and palletizing. They’re easy to program with no engineering experience, and they can typically pay for themselves in less than a year.

According to the World Economic Forum, the value of digital transformations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is estimated at $100 trillion in the next 10 years alone, across all sectors, industries and geographies. The manufacturing sector, which has long been a driver of global prosperity and economic growth, is key to this transformation.

2019 will see the widespread availability and adoption of high-speed 3D printing. This is the new frontier of additive manufacturing, and it’s already here. Today, there are commercially available, cost-effective products that can print around 40 times faster than the average 3D printer. These “factories in a box” are perfect for printing mechanical parts, prototyping and production tooling.

digital twin is a virtualized replica of an actual facility or plant, either hosted on premises or in the cloud. It draws data from a number of sources, including real-time control systems, asset management systems, historians, records of employee/customer interactions and other sources. With IoT implementations providing more and more data, high-fidelity digital twins are becoming easier to create and maintain.

“Industrial robots are a crucial part of the progress of manufacturing industry,” says Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “Robots evolve with many cutting-edge technologies. They are vision recognition, skill learning, failure prediction utilizing AI, new concept of man-machine-collaboration plus easy programming and so on. They will help improve productivity of manufacturing and expand the field of robot application. The IFR outlook shows that in 2021 the annual number of robots supplied to factories around the world will reach about 630,000 units.”

What would you do if your market disappeared overnight? It might be a scary proposition to consider what would happen if your customers didn’t buy from you tomorrow, but within the answer lies the start of your digital transformation.

Fifteen years ago, New York City was a tech afterthought. Today, it is ranked the second highest performing startup ecosystem in the world after Silicon Valley. More significantly, in certain tech sub-sectors it beats Silicon Valley at its own game, a trend that may continue.

New York City is among the leading locations in three of these subsectors. In advanced manufacturing, it hosts the most 3D printing activity in the world. NYC also boasts city-specific initiatives that foster the progress of advanced manufacturing. New Lab, based in Brooklyn, is a multi-disciplinary technology center and public-private partnership focused on advanced manufacturing that hosts over 100 companies.